Youthful Bent: Passive to Active Meditation

We are aware of phenomenon meditation and benefits reaped by practicing it. Meditation is state of mind, for attaining which some techniques and processes are helpful. Meditation has a direct impact on mind and its functioning, but it has relevance in physical benefits too. Now days in medical fraternity, voice regarding non effectiveness of meditation on a body is surmounting. There comes this difference between active meditation and passive meditation, which answers why meditation has more mind effect than body one.

Now you understand that the state of meditation is the status of relaxation, awareness, consciousness and self-acceptance. We can achieve it with or without effective involvement with the body. The trace of meditation goes to ancient ages where one practices it for gaining spiritual power and enlightenment. In the ancient treatise, it has an extremely passive mode as described by almost all masters except Shiva, who’s some methods involved body participation until a greater extent. He was the master who made sex an active meditation.

Sitting still, watching the breath, thoughts, the wall in front of you, imagining positive structure, shape, talks, giving auto suggestion, focusing on chakra – are all traditional passive meditation techniques that were developed by Buddha and other spiritual Masters many centuries ago. These were meant for spiritual liberation for the people travelling along the path of inner journey. And they were observing sanity, tranquillity, food restriction, less competition and no hurry to reach on the designated state. After a well preparation since childhood, in a less informed world with minimum connectivity to other parts around the world, a person put the foot forward in a meditation world.

Now paraphernalia of human being in accordance with life and its aspect have changed drastically. Most people today have become very complicated and are continuously overloaded with information. With acquired philosophical intelligence, they live vicariously the subject rather tangentially. They tend to sit at desks or in cars for long periods of time and are not physically active. As a result, they are unable to release stress, tensions and anxieties. This creates tremendous restlessness, making it difficult for most people to sit still. Wavering mind with undigested information and un-imbibed philosophy creates unrest, which reflects on their body too. When they try to sit silently, the mind races and the body wiggles and squirms. Active Meditations are an antidote to this situation.

Passive meditations were for a totally different type of humanity who was less complicated and physically working all day long. Their tensions, anxieties and aggressions used to get released by day to day activity such as hunting, wood chopping, farming, walking, running, etc. so that by the evening their mind comes in tandem with body making a perfect atmosphere for meditation to seep in. Contemporary lifestyle and increased stress level demand for different meditation techniques. In 1960, our beloved Indian mystic OSHO recomposed active meditation with need of the hour showing irrelevance of previous form of meditation.

Active meditations starts with some form of physical activity, which helps to release stress and anxiety. This creates space for stillness and silence and allows people to settle within themselves and experience the state of meditation. The structure of active meditation is such as that it starts with activity within the body sometimes vigorous and end with movement into your inner silence where you begin to rejuvenate and connect with vast intelligence and wisdom. There are thousands and one ailment but only one medicine-meditation.

Now even science accepts the active meditation slows down alpha brain wave activity through which subconscious part of mind is more accessible. This brain wave activity makes a platform for learning as well as it becomes easier to relax. As the brain waves slow down, outside distractions and thoughts that cause stresses are minimized. With passive meditation techniques, it takes long time in attaining alpha state as thought and feelings and so-called intelligence keep you dragging back to beta state of mind, i.e. full alertness and consciousness.

It is a very unreasonable, almost insane world in which you are living. If you can manage just to meditate, you have done more than is expected of the contemporary man.